FLOWERS, POLLEN AND NECTAR

HONEYBEE ON OREGANO HONEYBEE WITH FULL POLLEN SACK

PARTS OF A FLOWER

SOME PLANTS THAT ARE COMMON IN THE INLAND NORTHWEST

Alfalfa

Sweet Clover

Black Locust

Vetch

Star Thistle

Knapweed

Mint

Hawthorn

Honeysuckle

Rapeseed

Tumbleweed

Bindweed

Black Hawthorn

Russian Pea

Alder

Birch

Introduced plants, including

crops, gardens, landscaping and invasive species introduced to the environment

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SOME NATIVE PLANTS

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WillowCurrentSagebrushElderberryJune berryDogwoodOregon grapePenstemonBuckwheatRosehipMock orangeChokecherry

Willow Quaking aspen

Buckwheat Penstamon

NATIVE PLANTS CONTINUED

Common CamasWild StrawberryPhloxLupineSaxifragesBluebellsLupine

SunflowerBalsamrootBitterrootPineapple weedSticky purple geraniumWestern blue flagGrass widowYellow bell

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FLOWER CHOICES OF BEES

• Bees choose flowers by color and scent. They are attracted to flowers by scents that are attractive to them. Flowers have patterns (nectar guides) that show bees where to look for nectar. Bees see blue-green, blue, violet, and ultraviolet. UV patterns create a “landing zone” attracting the bees to the nectary. When the nectar diminishes so does the attraction, and the bees move on to other flowers.

Honeybee on Snowberry Bush

Honeybee on Blueweed

Honeybee on Common Camas

Clover Lane White clover has about 45% nectar sugar concentration.

Clover, Dalmatian Toadflax, and Blueweed in front of a wheat field.

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Star Thistle

BEES ON FRASERA

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Sunflower Crookneck squash

Corn Oregano

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Bee Balm

Thyme

Spanish Lavender

White Lilac

Honey Bees Require

ProteinsCarbohydrates

MineralsFats

VitaminsWater

All for normal growth and development

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Pollen

Young bees must consume large quantities of pollen in the first two

weeks of their adult life.

The consumption could last up to five days of age.

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Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement between the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the female cone of coniferous plants. When pollen lands on a compatible pistil of flowering plants, it germinates and produces a pollen tube that transfers the sperm to the ovule of a receptive ovary. The individual pollen grains are small enough to require magnification to see detail.

POLLEN

Bee with full pollen sacks on legs

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Nursing duties are normally finished and field duties are undertaken when bees are 10-14 days old.

At the time the requirement for pollen decreases and the chief dietary need becomes carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are obtained from nectar and honey.

Nectar

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• Nectar is the sugar rich liquid produced by the flowers of plants in order to attract pollinating insects.

• It is also the principal raw ingredient of honey.

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Although its main ingredient is natural sugar (i.e., sucrose (table sugar), glucose, and fructose),[4] nectar is a brew of many chemicals. For example, the Nicotiana attenuata, a tobacco plant native to the US state of Utah, uses several volatile aromas to attract pollinating birds and moths. The strongest such aroma is benzyl acetone, but the plant also adds bitter nicotine, which is less aromatic and therefore may not be detected by the bird until after taking a drink. Researchers speculate the purpose of this addition is to drive the bird away after only a sip, motivating it to visit other plants to fill its hunger, and therefore maximizing the pollination efficiency gained by the plant for a minimum nectar output.

Nectary Gland of a Flower

• The nectary is the gland that secretes nectar. It is usually located at the base of the f lower. This forces pollinators to brush against the flower’s reproductive structures to reach it.

WATER

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• Honey bees will consume water daily• It is best if the beekeeper supplies the

water and not the neighbors swimming pool or horse trough.

WATER JUG WITH STONES

FOR BEES TO LAND ONPOND

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HONEY BEE

DRINKING

HONEY

FROM A CELL

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COVERED IN THIS LESSON

The basic flowerNectarPollenWater

Different Northwestern flowers